A desert tranquility surrounds the buildings of the Anglican Church of the Good Shepherd in San Angelo. Mesquite trees shade its parking lot and sway in the breeze, a broad expanse of rolling grass and dirt spreads out to the east of the buildings, and a large cross adorns the side of one of the walls, while ivy creeps up others.
This peaceful domain, however, has been the field of a legal battle for more than two years. And now the congregation of the Good Shepherd has been left in limbo after Judge Blair Cherry ruled in favor of giving the property to the Diocese of Northwest Texas.
“We’re just waiting and watching and praying,” said Stanley Burdock, the pastor of the Anglican Church of the Good Shepherd. “It’s an unfortunate situation, and we can trust to God to bring it to its appointed conclusion, although we don’t know what that conclusion will be.”
I was a member of Good Shepherd in the early to mid 80s. I am sorry that this is happening. I don’t know what the Diocese of NW Texas will do with the empty building. They should have come to an agreement with the congregation for the purchase or lease of the building. The diocese has its own financial troubles and I doubt very much if the property would sell quickly in San Angelo right now (or for the next few years).
YBIC,
Phil Snyder
Its about the scorched earth approach of TEC’s heretic Presiding Bishop egged on by the greedy David Booth Beers and his grasping law firm. But the gates of Hell will not prevail against God’s Church.
Or course there isn’t much money left which hasn’t been shovelled into Beers’ firm. Someone should have a careful look at the financial arrangements between Beers’ firm and Schori, but this will probably have to wait until the end of her term or her deposition.
Money for lawyers, but no money for Haiti. But that is TEC for you. All the more reason to help the Anglicans left and recognise ACNA promptly which I pray we will do promptly, Williams’ enabling shenanigans notwithstanding.
TEC can’t relent. If they do, the floodgates will open and the assets were pour out. People come and go (more often than come these days), but real property and trust funds are valuable, even if you just liquidate them.
This is now in the lap of our new bishop, +Scott Mayer. I hope he will meet with everyone involved and work out an equitable solution.
Interestingly enough, I learned recently that our former bishop, +Ohl has emerged from retirement and is now serving as the TEC bishop of Ft. Worth. That one seems to have flown under the radar!
#3 “the floodgates will open and the assets were pour out”.
Quite so, but what are the ‘assets’ of a church? Not what the Church of the Prince of this world thinks they are, and that is really why TEC is going down the pan.
No, not under the radar at all, teatime. It’s reported that he is having a good time notching on his belt more depositions. He may set the historic record. Something rather appealing (did I spell that right: appaling?) to put on your tombstone, don’t you think?